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Budget Center Roles & Responsibilities
For general questions about Budget Center roles and responsibilities, please contact budgetandplanning@tufts.edu.
Budget Center Staff:
- Budget Center Senior Director
- Budget Center Operations Director
- Budget Center Director
- Budget Center Senior Analysts
- Budget Center Analysts
Non-Budget Center Staff:
- Tufts Support Services (TSS)
- Human Resources (HR)
- Executive Associate Deans (EADs) and Vice Presidents (VPs)
- Program Managers
Budget Center Senior Director
- Develop Budget Center strategy including key priorities and performance expectations
- Serve as liaison to Finance & Planning Office, Tufts Shared Services, Research Administration, and other key constituent organizations
- Manage Budget Center resources and overall Budget Center operations. Guides project management, talent management, and workload activities
- Coordinate and manage resource planning throughout the year. Communicates changes in schedules, additional needs, and provides necessary direction on overall Budget Center Operations
- Establish and monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and develop metric measurement process. Ensure performance is reported to key stakeholders
- Ensure service is delivered with a strong focus on constituent satisfaction
- Develop and manage Budget Center Policies and Procedures
- Ensure budgets and forecasts adhere to standards and guidelines set by the Board of Trustees and Finance & Planning
- Work to identify and implement opportunities for continuous improvements in processes, systems, and procedures
- Identify and support implementation of methodologies to improve service levels, manage constituent perceptions, and build strong constituent relationships
- Lead, motivate and develop Budget Center team to enable staff performance
- Serve as the ambassador for the Budget Center internally and as the face to the Tufts community
- Participate in Budget Center governance and lead issue resolution processes
- Support the “build” phase activities of the Budget Center as it is established and develop a plan for the transition of activities into the Budget Center
- Review and evaluate performance of Budget Center staff
- Review and approve School & Central Budgets and Forecasts prior to submission to Finance & Planning
Budget Center Operations Director
- Support the Sr. Director with final development, implementation, and on-going revisions to Budget Center process, policies, services, and assessments
- Work alongside the Directors to develop best practices
- Ensure budgeting practices are clear and consistent across the schools and central divisions and aligned with the University's other administrative areas
- Understand the unique needs of Budget Center customers and work with the Sr. Director and Directors to craft solutions that are responsive while maintaining the Budget Center's need for standards
- Manage recruitment and training of new staff
- Work with the Sr. Director to maintain and revise the Budget Center's operating manual and documented policies and procedures
- Support development of standards for Budget Center reporting and packaged deliverables to EADs and program managers, narratives for budget and forecasts, and the year-end review
- Work with the Sr. Director and the University's Communications office to maintain the Budget Center's brand
- Monitor consistent application of standards across schools and central divisions and recommend to Sr. Director revisions to standards or need for unique analytical tools or reports
- Manage alignment of Budget Center's processes and procedures with the University's other administrative areas, particularly Human Resources, Tufts Support Services, Research Administration, and Finance & Planning
- Serve as administrative liaison and participate in meetings with representatives from other functions
- Assess current practices and identify opportunities to improve service or reduce effort
- Develop and oversee plans to improve alignment
- Serve as the Budget Center's liaison with staff in the HNRCA. Maintain general understanding of HNRCA operations, financial issues and budget system information.
- Partner with key Department/School contacts and track service nuances, policies and procedures to support development of School-specific profiles/knowledge base materials
- Supervise staff and coordinate service delivery to assigned constituent groups
- Support implementation of methodologies to improve service levels, manage customer perceptions, and build strong customer relationships
- Ensure service is delivered with a strong focus on customer satisfaction
- Train and instruct staff to perform assigned tasks
- Assist assigned resources with work schedules and assignment of appropriate tasks including the delegation of constituent requests
- Review and approve summary analyses of assigned units
- Prepare financial choices for constituent groups with understanding of financial and strategic risks and opportunities
- Ensures budgets align with long-term Unit and University strategy
- Review and approve baseline budget package prior to submission for School/Unit leadership review (includes budget roster and trend analysis). Revise and update as necessary
- Review and approve final School/Unit budgets and forecasts prior to University consolidation
- Provide strategic guidance to key constituents on funding risks, opportunities, and assumptions
- Manage and serve as primary contact for Executive Administrative Deans (EADs) and Vice Presidents for budget and fiscal related inquiries
- Work closely with School/Unit leadership to resolve inquiries and issues in a timely manner
- Review and evaluate performance of Budget Center analysts
- Triage requests for ad hoc analysis support and delegate work to appropriate resources
- Serve as main contact to departments and units for questions related to financials
- Attend budget meetings with Executive Administrative Deans (EADs) to review strategy and assumptions
- Develop budget package for School/Department input and review (includes budget roster and trend analysis)
- Prepare summary analyses of assigned units
- Serve as liaison to Local Research Administrators (LRAs) to receive input into budgets, forecasts and rosters
- Review department budgets to identify and resolve variances and deficits, and keep departments informed about budget status
- Promote stewardship by ensuring Program Managers expend funds in accordance with budget or donor intentions
- Draft detailed budget narrative for assigned School/Unit
- Assist with questions regarding prior period variance
- Measure performance and report performance indicators to key stakeholders
- Support Senior Analyst with budget and forecast compilation
- Review department budgets to identify and resolve variances and deficits, and keep departments informed about budget status
- Perform data entry into Axiom as required
- Perform analytics on budget vs. actual data
- Develop baseline budgets and forecasts for review by Senior Analyst
- Provide reports on available balances for all account or fund types
- Assist with ad hoc analysis
- Promote stewardship by ensuring Program Managers expend funds in accordance with budget or donor intentions
- Generate Budget Center and School/Unit performance reports
- Populate budget with assumptions from other units (e.g., O&M, Central Assessment, Deferred Maintenance)
- Forwards transactions to Budget Center that require confirmation of funds when the transaction exceeds an established threshold
- Forwards transactions to the Budget Center that require confirmation of funds when the transaction exceeds an established threshold
- Works with the Budget Center to identify or confirm funding for a transaction when threshold for the transaction is exceeded
- Accountable for all transactions that are initiated that do not exceed the threshold that would require Budget Center involvement
- Primary customer of the Budget Center
- Represents the needs and issues of the School that they oversee. Aligns School goals and priorities with the overall University strategy
- Provides strategic input to the Budget Center during budget and forecast development
- Works with the Budget Center to develop multi-year operating budget for School
- Reviews and approves budget requests from departments
- Provides final approval on budgets and forecasts created by the Budget Center prior to submission to Finance & Planning
- Works with the Dean to set School strategy and budgetary priorities
- Communicates strategy and budgetary priorities, goals, and plan to departments
- Liaises with the Budget Center in order to effectively manage School resources and resolve fiscal or budgetary issues or inquiries
- Works with Budget Center to advise Dean on budgetary decisions, risks, and opportunities
- Works with the Budget Center to resolve major escalated issues
- Attends meetings with the Budget Center to review and approve budgets, forecasts, and resolve Budget related inquiries
- Identified and designated by the EAD or Vice President, this role may be filled by a chair, director of program, senior department manager, or senior administrator
- Key customer of the Budget Center
- They are the individuals who identify resources (faculty, staff, students, consultants, technology) that are needed for their program and, when needed, propose changes as part of the university’s annual budget development process
- They have authority and accountability for their budgets
- Identify resources to effect the program’s strategy and mission
- Authorize spending for the department
- Manage spending within the budget and policies established by the school/central division and Budget Center
- Work with the Budget Center to develop annual operating budget and forecasts, including updates on position roster changes, including updates to recruitment, separations, and other changes affecting position salaries
- Review and approve department/program budgets and forecasts from the Budget Center prior to submission to EAD/VP
- Align department goals and priorities with that of the school/unit and with overall university strategy
- Interact with TSS, HR, and Budget Center as needed to manage their program
- Work with Budget Center on unanticipated or out-of-cycle budget changes
- Attend meetings with the Budget Center and EAD/VP as required to resolve budget related inquiries
Updated: August 3, 2015